Genetics and the Baby Chick Hatchery

Exhibit Essentials

Enter the complex world of genetics and learn how some of the hottest issues in science affect each of our lives. This exhibit brings genetics to life, translates complex technologies and raises questions and issues about current and future role of genetics.

You won’t want to miss these exhibit highlights!

At the Baby Chick Hatchery—one of the Museum’s most beloved experiences—you’ll watch as chicks peck out of their shells and take their first steps. Fertilized eggs are placed in an incubator each day! The hatchery illustrates animal development and answers questions like, “what is a fertile egg?” and “how can you tell if a chick is male or female?”

View cloned mice and find out how and why scientists are studying cloning.

See how genetic engineering makes frogs’ eyes glow and how scientists are using this to study how the eye develops.

Learn about DNA from a real strand of President Abraham Lincoln’s hair and study your own hair up-close.

Play the role of a genetic counselor via a computer interactive and “consult" with doctors and patients on a variety of real-life issues.

Navigate through an interactive, 3-D human genome and learn about specific genes—and the role they play in genetic diseases and DNA fingerprinting.

Weigh in and vote on ethics and privacy issues surrounding DNA databases.

Glimpse the future of medicine when doctors can tailor treatment based on your genetic makeup.